How Does Testosterone Improve Courage?

How does testosterone improve courage? 
Testosterone fills men with the courage to undertake adventure, new challenges, and to build and create their desired future. Perhaps you remember riding a motorcycle for the first time in your early 20s, back when you were most likely around your peak levels of testosterone. You probably had the courage to jump right on and ride away, even at high speeds. Some of you reading this probably didn’t even bother to wear a helmet! Was it risky, or even stupid? Maybe. However, the point is you had it in you to do it. The same way young men have it in them to face off against a larger opponent on the football field, endure military bootcamp, or fight for success in a highly competitive medical school.

Now imagine climbing on a motorcycle for the first time in your 40s, 50s, or 60s with no experience and significantly reduced testosterone. Would you have the same level of courage to ride at high speeds, or even try it at all? Without youthful testosterone levels, most men would be anxious, and even fearful. Now apply that thinking to the areas of your life that can benefit from additional courage – courage to face off against larger opponents in the corporate world, to meet the needs of your family, and to drive your life in the direction of the future you want to create. It is not the age but the lack of testosterone that makes the remarkable difference in courage and audacity between the two age groups.

As an added bonus, many men in their 40s, 50s, and 60s have acquired wisdom throughout the years. When you were young maybe you heard an older man say something like, “if I only knew then what I know now.” What they may have been expressing was a desire to have youthful horsepower to put behind their years of wisdom. It’s an interesting thought.

Courage could be labeled as a typical effect of testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), an effect brought to bear by testosterone binding to testosterone receptors in the brain. Experience suggests these results are attributed to testosterone and not due to its conversion to other hormones, as increased courage through testosterone is not reduced in men when testosterone conversion to estradiol and dihydrotestosterone is blocked by aromatase and 5-alpha-reductase blockers. This view that courage enhancement is a direct result of TRT is further supported by a spectacular increase in courage among women who also receive high-dose Intramuscular testosterone injections.